The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently launched a 90-day consultation on the proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. The current consultation follows a preliminary consultation that took place in 2015 that led to a reduction of regulatory burden, based on feedback from small businesses.
If you import food or prepare food to be exported or sold across provinces, the new requirements may require you to have preventive controls in place and you may need to write them down in a plan. You may also need to obtain a licence and meet certain traceability requirements.
According to the CFIA, preventive controls would allow you to identify and manage food safety risks before products are sold to consumers. Strong preventive systems, such as traceability and food safety controls, could boost your competitiveness here in Canada and abroad.
Consultation deadline: April 21, 2017. Go to inspection.gc.ca/safefood to submit your feedback.
Live information sessions
During the 90-day consultation period, the CFIA will host a series of webinars and information sessions across Canada to help you better understand the proposed Regulations, and to provide instruction on how to submit written comments during the consultation.
View the calendar of sessions and register online.
The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) and the CFIA are also planning an additional in-person and webinar meeting exclusively for fruit and vegetable growers in March. Experts will be on hand to answer questions, but participants will be expected to have read the regulations ahead of time. There will be no overview presentation given at the CHC event. Details on time and place to follow.
More information
- Video: SFCR – What Food Businesses Need to Know
- Understanding the proposed SFCR: a handbook for food businesses
- Fact Sheet: Supporting Food Businesses
- Backgrounder: Proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
- Glossary of key terms